Universal health coverage possible in 2015 if…NHIS

Nigerians will soon access good quality and affordable health care services when and where ever they need it regardless of financial and social status, if the National Health bill is passed into law, the South-South Zonal Coordinator of the NHIS, Mr. Nasiru Ikharo has said.

This assertion was made at a forum held for stakeholders, enrolees, healthcare facilities and health maintenance organisations in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Port-Harcourt recently.

According to the South-South Zonal Coordinator of the NHIS, Mr. Nasiru Ikharo, the foundation of universal health coverage is access to good quality and affordable healthcare service as at when it is needed. This, he said, is the vision of NHIS that is mandated to facilitate fair financing and delivery of good quality and affordable healthcare services to Nigerians and residents of Nigeria by the year 2015.

It could be recalled that the content of the current national health bill has a provision for 1% of the consolidated revenue account of the Federal Government recommended for NHIS to give health insurance cover for the vulnerable groups that include those who cannot afford to contribute to the national health insurance fund.

This 1% Federal contribution to the vulnerable groups’ funding could amount to forty billion naira (N40billion) necessary to boost the contributed funds of NHIS.

Ikharo also revealed that the NHIS is considering several financing options for the vulnerable groups’ fund that will include cross subsidisation from other programmes of the scheme and from other sources soon to be made public.